Kroch's and Brentano's

Kroch's and Brentano's was the largest bookstore in Chicago, and at one time the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the United States. The store and the chain were formed in 1954 through the merger of the separate Kroch's bookstore with the former Chicago branch of the New York-based Brentano's bookstore. The chain was closed in 1995 after suffering financial losses from increased competition.

Adolph Kroch, an Austrian immigrant to Chicago, founded a German-language bookstore on Monroe Street in 1907. He switched to English-language books during World War I. A few years, later he moved the store to a larger location at 22 N. Michigan. After 15 years at that location, Kroch's International Book Shop moved to 206 N. Michigan Avenue in 1927. This store became the largest bookstore in Chicago by the time this location was closed in 1953.

In 1933, Kroch was able to purchase the Chicago branch of the New York-based Brentano's bookstore which had been in Chicago since 1884. To prevent Brentano's from re-entering Chicago, Kroch kept the Brentano name and operate this as a separate business from his own Kroch's bookstore until his retirement.

Adolf Kroch decided to retire in 1947 and to hand over the management of the company to his son Carl. In 1953, Carl announced that he would form the "World's Largest Bookstore" the following year by merging the separate Kroch's and Brentano's bookstores and by enlarging the space that was then occupied by Brentano's at 29 South Wabash Avenue to 40,000 square feet of retail space. In the basement of this store was another store that was called "Super Book Mart" which specialized in carrying paperbacks and low cost hardback reprints, the first of its kind in Chicago.

Kroch's and Brentano's was said to have the finest selection of art books in the region, and its sales clerks were famously knowledgeable. One such individual was Henry Tabor, who ran the art department. There was seemingly nothing he didn't know in the world of art. The flagship store at 29 S. Wabash had several distinct departments including one run by Alice (Morimoto) Goda who was secretary to the vice-president which was a mail order center that tracked down obscure out-of-print titles for customers around the world. The store frequently exhibited noted painters' and photographers' work on the walls, and regularly hosted book signings by major authors.

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